Ruud retires from Oranje duty

Striker steps out of international arena

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 4th August 2008

ruud van nistelrooy celebrates goal holland russia

Van Nistelrooy: Often among the goals

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Holland striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has announced his retirement from international football.

The Real Madrid forward has decided that he can longer cope with the demands of turning out for both club and country.

He earned 64 caps for Oranje, scoring 33 goals - the same amount as Dutch legend Johan Cruyff.

He appeared at the European Championships in 2004 and 2008, while he was also a key member of the Dutch squad which reached the second round of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

However, he has taken the decision to step down in order to prolong his playing career.

"After studying the schedule of Real Madrid and the Dutch team I realised playing for both teams would mean too tough a physical load for me and therefore I made this choice," the 32-year-old told the Dutch Football Association's (KNVB) official website.

"The combination of league, cup and Champions League matches for Real Madrid is too hard for me. There was no other choice.

"Of course you don't make a decision like this overnight. I had a good European Championship with the Dutch national team and look back with a good feeling on my international career."